best kept secrets in new mexico. who are the medical marijuana growers for the state and what do they have inside their facilities. k-o-b eyewitness news 4 is the only station to ever take a camera inside a dispensary. and our kayla anderson was able to see how the non profit group takes the controversial drug from a seedling to medicine for patients. "southwest organic producers is one of 11 licensed medical marijuana producers in new mexico. we can't tell you where their facility is. but you'll be surprised to learn what kind of effort goes into growing safe and effective, high grade medical cannabis." it's marijuana like we've never seen it before. there are
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10:21 pm multiple, potent strains in this room ... som- eight feet tall. and all of them with bulky, fragrant buds. "what you're looking at is flowers, plants putting out flowers to attract pollen. by denying them pollen, we make them a more potent product, so much higher quality." jacob white took us inside swop's flowering room. from the ph balance to the nutrient levels... everything here is closely measured and monitored. the plants get a strict 12 hours of light and 12 hours of complete darkness. "they are essentially getting a whole summer's and late fall's worth of growth, in just a few short months, by the manipulation of the light cycles and the light spectrum." clients of swop are licensed to receive medical cannabis. many of them have weakened immune systems... so swop works non-stop to produce medical cannabis that's of the highest, safest quality.
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10:22 pm "this is medicine, so it needs to be treated like medicine." the potentcy of each bud is based on these tiny growths... called tri-chromes. "thc is found in the tri- chromes, these little crystals you'll see here. that's where the majority of the active ingredients in cannabis are located." buds are sorted, priced and sold, based on the tri- chromes. and leftover leaves are used for other cannabis products... like oils and muscle salves. they're also used to make edible medicine with the help of a local bakery, which works with swop to produce goodies, like cookies and brownies, which are then sold to patients. swop also makes clones to give to clients who have a license to grow cannabis at home. swop is a non- profit organization. their mission is simple... helping licensed patients by giving them safe access to high grade medical marijuana. "i've gotten the exact same phone call multiple
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10:23 pm times, some from patients, some from family members. but saying, thank you so much. you've given me my husband back, or my daughter has her father back." the process isn't easy for patients. they have to qualify for having an medical condition... then get a recommendation from their doctor. and in some cases, they need a second recommendation from a medical specialist. then, if they pass a review process by the state... the patient is given a medical cannabis card, along with a list of rules and growers. "people that really need it are getting it. and the steps are there that prevent people that don't really need it from getting it." right now only five medical marijuana producers in new mexico are actively producing cannabis. six others are still in the start up stages. this facility alone has 634 clients. "i've been worried that there's not enough. i mean, there's just not." patients are
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10:24 pm enrolling in the program at a record rate... as doctors are slowly becoming more willing to sign off on it. they're learning they are not legally responsible for a patient's marijuana use.... and they can't lose their license for recommending a patient to the program. "9 of the 11 medical cannabis producers in the state have formed a guild. they're now working together to better meet demand. coming up tomorrow night at ten, i'll introduce you to some of the patients enrolled in the state's program. hear their powerful stories of pain and suffering and how weed is helping them.
